


Lightly Salted

by JazzRaft



Series: Dark at Night [27]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Shovel Talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 08:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10330031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JazzRaft/pseuds/JazzRaft
Summary: Nyx faces down the secret final boss of the guardians for Noct's emotional well-being.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on [tumblr](http://jazzraft.tumblr.com/post/157178142122/if-nyx-had-been-terrified-of-regis-shovel-talk) for [helliskylux](http://helliskylux.tumblr.com/).

“Listen… your apartment was a last resort for emergency sex, I promise. We didn’t do it there that often. Or in the kitchen… Once, okay, once in the kitchen ow!”

Ignis refused to apologize for the tight tug of the bandage, justifying the rough treatment with a deliberately detached, “That ‘once’ was the day I came home to a broken Dutch oven and a ruined stew.”

“We cleaned up the stew,” Nyx said in a pitiful defense. “It was excellent by the way.”

Ignis skewered him with a glare that explicitly stated, “Do _not_ elaborate on what surface you might have been licking my stew from.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve vandalized my kitchen,” he mumbled instead, cleaning up the first aid supplies.

“You _know_ that was the dog’s fault! The hell man, I thought we were cool.”

He was met with silence and Ignis’s back. Nyx snorted in annoyance and inched his way into a clean shirt. Worrying over how Noctis’s friends would react to finding out he’d been secretly sleeping with a glaive for little over a year had not been very high on Nyx’s list of priorities when he was dragging himself out from under Insomnia’s rubble to find the prince. Kissing him in the middle of the hotel lobby for all to see when he did find him was very high on the list.

A mixed bag from the boys: Prompto’s cheeks flamed up and he immediately developed a sudden stutter when he talked to Nyx. Gladiolus _laughed_ and gave him a pat on the back that nearly broke Nyx in half ‘cause he was already beat up enough as it was. And from Ignis? Silence. An impenetrably cool stare. And a curt offer of medical attention.

“So, are you mad that he lied, or are you mad that it’s me?”

“More the former than the latter… although I’m not particularly pleased with that, either.”

Nyx wrinkled his nose at him while his back was turned before dragging himself to his feet, moaning with the soreness, but grateful to finally be showered, bandaged, and in clean civvies again. Almost felt human. Even under Ignis’s microscope.

“Don’t hold it against him,” Nyx said, more than happy to take the full weight of the man’s scorn. “You know he had to keep it quiet.”

“Of course I know that. I just don’t know why he had to keep it quiet from _me_.”

Nyx watched the taut line of his shoulders for a moment before feeling the guilt. It had been far more than a few times where Noctis had fabricated a hastily texted excuse to Ignis so he could sneak off to Nyx’s place like a cheating spouse. The man must have been rethinking a hundred different conversations with Noctis now that he had Nyx as the context.

“If it, uh, makes you feel any better, His Majesty only found out after four months.”

He knew midway through saying it that it was not even the remotest right thing to say to “make you feel any better.” Rather than a withering stare being brandished his way, Ignis lightly crossed his arms and half-turned to Nyx, eyes on the motel carpet.

“So the King knew, at least.”

Nyx grew quiet, studying his profile while he stood in thought. The two of them rarely ever saw eye to eye while on duty. Whenever they crossed paths, it was usually for a punishment Ignis was delivering for a crime Nyx committed. A couple minor slights – property damage, disturbing the peace, typical hooligan behavior – as Ignis sometimes referred to it. Nyx held the rules in very little regard; Ignis did not. They were like oil and vinegar and always had been. Nyx knew that throwing Noctis into the mix was not going to help them combine.

“Did His Majesty approve?” Ignis asked, quietly, his tone impossible to read.

“Yeah. I think he did.”

In the year since Regis had made his knowledge of their relationship known, Nyx had become more personable with the King, sharing secrets about Noctis, both on a joint mission in life to ensure his happiness at all times. Nyx had been mortified and terrified at first to be confronted by the King about his relationship, but it slowly softened into an even greater respect for Regis and a deeper affection.

His murder had hit Nyx harder than he’d been prepared for because of it.

“Then, there’s really no decrying the situation, is there?” Ignis sighed, fingering the bridge of his glasses.

“You don’t have to like it just because the King did.”

“Would you rather we spent our days in disapproval, then?”

Nyx crossed his arms, mimicking Ignis’s stance. He didn’t want him to _pretend_ to like him just for Noctis’s sake. If they were going to have a problem, then he’d rather get it out of the way now than have it fester and boil for later. They each scrutinized one another from either side of the room, gauging the level of dissatisfaction towards their respective positions.

“I was going to say that I doubted your commitment to Noctis from a romantic standpoint,” Ignis said after a while, eyes narrowing. “But… more than a year, you said?”

“Trust me, no one’s more surprised than the two of us,” Nyx chuckled, recalling the New Year’s celebration where they’d sat in awe of the Insomnian fireworks, but more in awe of the fact that they were watching them together.

“And I do recall a significant change in Noctis’s demeanor since the apparent inception of your relationship. You truly make him happy.”

Nyx was surprised to hear a hint of genuine admiration in his tone – and doubly surprised by the concession in the first place. He shifted from one foot to the other and tried not to let his pride in that admission color his face too much.

“Good. That’s all that really matters.”

“And… he makes you happy?”

Nyx’s mouth curled up in an involuntary smile and that seemed to be answer enough for Ignis. He smirked, fondly.

“Ah. Thank the gods. He’s not completely hopeless.”

“That mean we’re square there, Steel Chef?”

Ignis groaned, and pinched the bridge of his nose. Nyx smiled with pride. It was gonna be a fun road trip.


End file.
